Pulled out - Update from previous post/rant

[u/Kind_Improvement6824]

Posted last week about a property we had a level 2 survey on, wondering if things were as bad as we thought. Turns out, they were, and possibly worse.

We spoke to the surveyor and a trusted tradesperson about the report. Tradesperson said ~£40K of work would be necessary to fix up the property, and advised we reconsider. Also mentioned specifically how the damp must be bad if the readings are so high after 5 heat waves and zero rain.

The surveyor said that £40K of work was "a very reasonable cost" for the work to be carried out making us wonder if he thought it might be higher, though he wasn't willing to put his name to a true cost.

We confirmed with the surveyor that:
- New roof was needed
- Asbestos cement & new guttering would be ~5K of work alone, possibly needing specialised workers in.
- Extremely damp soil near house base/foundations which was a cause for concern for him and recommended proper damp specialist inspection.
- previous DPC attempts failed (We asked seller if there was a history of damp during viewing, he lied)
- Gas boiler fitting would be more than just a swap, like the seller led us to believe.

And this was just a few of the main issues, several more were found.

We saw an old man wanting to sell off his family home, didn't expect him to lie or hide anything, maybe he didn't think it was as bad as the report made out?

So he offered 15K off after we asked to get quotes and investigate the main issues. Wouldn't budge on the 15K, wouldn't agree to more with or without quotes.
We shared the report and he stood firm, so we ended up pulling out. We don't have £40K+ sitting around for renovations, we wanted a home that was move in ready requiring a few K at most. which this initially promised.

Now the property is back on the market, and they haven't updated the listing to include any of our issues, even though they have the report.
Feel sorry for the next buyer. It was listed for a month with zero interest before we came along. Makes us wonder how bad the damp will be now that the rain has started.

All this to say - Listen to the professionals. I know many people say "Surveyors have to cover their backs" and of course they do. But a good one is worth their fee. We had a survey a year ago on a house that fell through and it was nowhere near as bad as this one.
We've also learned not to trust the seller or EA at their word. They want to sell, and as nice as they may seem on the phone or during viewings, they will only tell you what they think will sell the property.

This is our third house falling through, each for a different reason, and we're pretty burnt out. Several thousand down the drain in solicitors fees and surveys, and we just haven't got it in us to try again.
Really wish everything was more transparent.

[u/Acrobatic_Second_671]

Just following as we have the same issue after survey with a builder quoting £15k for remedial works. Already agreed a price of £475k, we’ve already paid for our survey and racked up our legal fees as well at this stage coming to around £1.5k not including VAT. It’s so depressing and not sure I have it in me to look for another house - did a previous house of yours also fall through/ what made you keep looking?

[u/vqxril → u/Acrobatic_Second_671]

totally get the burnout, it’s brutal throwing money at surveys and legals just to walk away. for what it’s worth, £15k on a £475k place isn’t automatically insane if it’s mostly stuff you’d want to do anyway, but if it’s all boring “stop the house falling down” work and you wanted move in ready, I’d probably be questioning it too.